The present invention relates to a document generator for generating documents to clarify, delivery and receipt of distributed objects in a delivery service business and to improve the efficiency of acceptance, relay, conveyance and delivery of distributed objects, such as mail items, packets, or parcels.
FIG. 1 shows a conventional delivery certificate generator for registered mail. FIG. 2 shows a flow of documents in a registered mail delivery service using the delivery certificate generator.
In a registered mail delivery service, a delivery certificate is generated for the purpose of managing the delivery business. The delivery certificate is used for receiving the receipt sign (or seal) of a recipient when a registered mail item is delivered to the recipient. The delivery certificate is prepared in duplicate. One of the duplicate copies is used as a delivery certificate for receiving the receipt sign (or seal) from the recipient to certify the receipt of the mail. After receiving the receipt sign (or seal), that duplicate copy is returned to the post office and kept in custody therein. The other of the duplicate copies is reserved in the post office to confirm the delivery by collation with the delivery certificate returned after receiving the receipt sign (or seal) certifying the end of the delivery. The contents required to be written in the delivery certificate are the recipient address, the recipient name, the accepting office symbol, the acceptance number, the special consignment character, the generating date and time zone, the receipt sign (or seal) column, the character string "delivery certificate", etc.
A conventional example of a mail treater will be described hereunder with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. In FIG. 1, the reference numeral 1 designates the mail treater having a copying function, 2 a copying table for mounting a mail item to be copied, 3 a display means for displaying information of the number, characters and the like required for treating the mail, 11 a controller section for setting the contents of information displayed by the display means 3 and for monitoring the contents of the information, 12 a copying means constituted by an electrostatic charge process, an exposure process, a development process and a fixing process, 13 light sources for illuminating the copying table 2 and the display surface of the display means 3 with brightness required for copying, and 14 a focusing lens. The operation of the conventional example of the mail treater will be described hereunder. In FIG. 1, necessary information, such as the generating date and the serial number, is set to the display means 3 by operating the control section 11. Then, the distributed object 4 is placed on the copying table 2, so that the distributed object 4 is irradiated with the light emitted from the light sources 13. As a result, a copied image of the distributed object 4 is focused on the image-forming surface 15 of the copying means 12 by the focusing lens 14, as well as on the display surface of the display means 3. The copied image is outputted as a hard copy after the development process and the fixing process. As described above, the copied image of the mail provided with necessary information such as the generating date and the serial number can be produced as a hard copy even in the conventional mail treater.
A conventional example of a registered mail delivery service using the above mail treater having a copying function will be described hereunder with reference to FIG. 2. In FIG. 2, the reference numeral 1 designates the mail treater having the copying function. The mail treater 1 includes two reduced scale optical systems. The copying table 2 and the display portion 3 are provided so as to be located on the document surface of the mail treater 1. The display portion 3 is located in the interior of the copying table 2 so that the contents of displayed information can be changed. The reference numeral 4 designates a registered mail item. When the registered mail item 4 is copied after it is set on the copying table 2 with its front surface turned up, two scale-reduced images relative to the surface of the mail and the contents of information displayed on the display portion 3 are produced as a delivery certificate 5 and a delivery certificate reserve 6. In each of the delivery certificate 5 and the delivery certificate reserve 6, not only the information such as the recipient address and name, the accepting office symbol, the acceptance number, and the special consignment character, is described as the image of the surface of the mail but also the information such as the generating date, time zone, the receipt sign (or seal) column, the character string "delivery certificate", the serial number, etc., is described as the image of information displayed on the display portion 3.
The delivery certificate 5 is stuck onto the registered mail 4 before the registered mail 4 is delivered to the recipient. The delivery certificate reserve 6 is reserved in the post office. The delivery certificate 5 is removed from the registered mail 4 when the registered mail 4 is delivered to the recipient 7. The delivery certificate 5 is returned to the post office after receiving the receipt sign (or seal) 8 from the recipient 7. The delivery certificate 5 thus returned is collated with the delivery certificate reserve 6 to confirm the completion of the delivery and then kept in a depository 9 after being classified by the date, the time zone and the delivery section number. When some user makes an inquiry at the time of occurrence of accidents, the depository 9 in the post office is searched for the target delivery certificate 5 with the receipt sign (or seal) 8 to give an answer to the user.
For a large user such as a governmental office or a large business office, the delivery certificate may be generated in a manner so that the information such as the recipient address and name, the generating data and time zone, etc. is described in a multiple entry type sheet in which the character string "delivery certificate" and the receipt sign (or seal) column are described in advance, and the information such as the accepting office symbol and the acceptance number for each of a plurality of mails is further described in the multiple entry type sheet.
In the conventional delivery certificate generator for registered mail, however, the scale of the copied image of the mail is reduced. Accordingly, there arises a problem that the characters mechanically printed by a printer or the like are so small that the delivery certificate cannot be read easily. If the scale reducing rate is decreased to solve this problem, there arises another problem that the size of the delivery certificate becomes so large that not only the running cost becomes high but also the handling efficiency at the time of the sticking or keeping of the delivery certificate becomes poor. Further, many hands are required for searching for a delivery certificate in response to an inquiry about accidents from a user or for confirmation of the completion of the delivery. Consequently, speedy response to such an inquiry is impossible.